HUBBALLI: A two-decade-long fight came to an end on February 8, 2021, when the Karnataka government issued the notification to bifurcate Ballari, one of the largest districts in the state.
As Vijayanagara comes into existence as the 31st district housing six taluks, world heritage site Hampi and Tungabhadra Dam, people are thanking late politician and former deputy chief minister MP Prakash who was one of the first persons to raise the demands to bifurcate Ballari for better administration. Anand Singh, Haj and Wakf Board minister, was also one of the key persons behind this long-standing demand.
In 2019, Singh quit Congress that led to the collapse of the Congress-JD(S) coalition government. Later, he contested the bypolls and went on to become a minister in the BJP government. He and his alliance allegedly put pressure on the BSY government threatening to resign as a minister and quit the party if the Vijayanagara district is not carved out of Ballari.
Some political pundits are of the opinion that the Yediyurappa government would have been in danger if it had not fulfilled this crucial demand. Even though some BJP MLAs opposed the new district, Yediyurappa kept his promise.
The state government approved the new district on November 18, 2020, and finally announced Vijayanagara as the 31st district in its gazette notification on Monday.
Political experts also point out that with this, Anand Singh has now become the unquestionable leader of the new district and Reddy brothers and minister Sriramulu, who are from Ballari, may not have a hold like Singh in the new district.
Calling it a historical day of justice for the people of the region, Y Yamunesh, a leader of the organisation fighting for the new district said few villages were about 170 km from Ballari, and people used to struggle to reach district headquarter for official work. "For effective administration, decentralisation is very important which is why people fought for bifurcation which turned fruitful today," he said.